Lee Pycroft
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Posts posted by Lee Pycroft
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Good question, I can't answer it but it's still a good question lol..... It's something that has puzzled me for months, at the show on Sunday the difference in sizes of some of the Zebbies was vast... Now, local to me are some pet shops who sell Zebra's, but most are what most people regard as "pet shop size" ie small or standard size...
Now most of my birds are "Exhibition sized" but I've had to buy them from breeders as I've never come across "Exhibition" sized Zebra's in pet shops, so the question is....
How do you get them so big? Foods? Breeding?
If you mate a big bird with a small bird what size will you get?
If you have Exhibition sized birds and they breed with fellow Exhibition sized Zebra's will they always be big?
Are the "pet shop" small birds a product of continuous over breeding or are Standard Zebra small and it's the breeders who have made them bigger over time? ...
ps sorry to Hi-Jack your thread, but it's just something that has had me thinking for a while!
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Drowned? god that's awful and very unlucky! How did that happen? Hope you get sorted with the eggs Stephen!
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Currently got my two hens (live indoors) feeding 3 babies, and it's constant feeding and noise
.... Can't get over how quick they grow, one of them is 16 days old and is nearly the size of my adult hen..... 
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:rofl: I've bought the 2 plastic boxes with lids but I haven't had time to fix them yet.
At the moment the Dr says I've got a 'frozen shoulder' and said I've not to do any lifting or any repetitive work like sweeping, hoovering etc. but hopefully I'll get the bird baths done in the next few days.
Was at our local bird sale today and almost came home with 3 Japanese Quails but they were young and couldn't be sexed - so I didn't buy My friend bought a lovely male 'Firetail' beautiful little bird.
I'll post photographs soon
edited to add photo:
lol.... those will be great I'm sure... Think you should be banned from going to those auctions hahaha..
hope your shoulder gets better soon chuck x
http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a590/Emmy1851/BirdBathshomemade_zpscf9d3024.jpg
Emmy
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Hi Lee I just love your idea for the bird bath (Before you 'patent' your idea
I'm going to copy it and make two: one for the inside flight and one for the outside flight. )I have a bowl of drinking water that I put down for the cockatiels in the inside flight and since I've opened up that section now I have their chicks inside the house the finches have decided its a new bath for them and there was water everywhere except in the bowl 
I do have a large bird bath that I use for the inside aviary but that came with the cage but you're right in saying the large bird baths are expensive . I don't have a chair in my shed now 
I had to take it out because I needed the room for my cages ( should have got the larger shed 
) but once I get the roof on the outside flight watertight my chair will be going in there 
meantime I just have to stand ! (lol)EmmySo come on then Emmy, stop Basking in the limelight from winning the photo competition, I've shown you mine, so you show me yours!!! Lol...
the bird bath btw ;-)
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She seems fine now, I don't have anywhere to put her as I have had to lend out cages to a friend for their baby budgies, the breeding cage has a built in nest box on the side, she is interested in the egg, I will keep an eye on her and if she gets that bad again I will find a spare temporary cage, I think this may be her first egg. I will keep an eye on her, shes up and flying and hopping around today, not puffrd up now
Great news Sarah. . Annnnnnnnnd relax.. ;-)
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she is on a perch, still puffed up, with her partner next to her, looks like she's fighting
Fingers crosses she makes it through the night!!!!
That reminds me, best go and close the door on my lot.... :-)
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how's she doing now? getting ready to settle down for the night? Hope she makes it Sarah.....
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welcome to the forum, seems you have had a er? challenging re-introduction to keeping Zebbies... Hope things are all going well now and things have settled down for you.!
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Hi Lee I just love your idea for the bird bath (Before you 'patent' your idea
I'm going to copy it and make two: one for the inside flight and one for the outside flight. )I have a bowl of drinking water that I put down for the cockatiels in the inside flight and since I've opened up that section now I have their chicks inside the house the finches have decided its a new bath for them and there was water everywhere except in the bowl
I do have a large bird bath that I use for the inside aviary but that came with the cage but you're right in saying the large bird baths are expensive .I don't have a chair in my shed now
I had to take it out because I needed the room for my cages ( should have got the larger shed ) but once I get the roof on the outside flight watertight my chair will be going in there meantime I just have to stand ! (lol)Emmy
Your welcome re the bath. . Just thought posting it other members might think it helpful!!!....
Ps... think we all need bigger sheds lol
Pps... and more money to spend on birds to fill them lol...
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Lee Thank You for posting those photographs of your work and the photographs of your birds and the comments that went with them. You just made my night and I had a good laugh and thought - Thank goodness there's someone else who thinks like me (lol) My family are beginning to think I'm 'crackers' because I talk to my birds all the time. (I've found some of them do get to recognise their name.)
I have one named Oscar too but it should be changed to Oscarina as it turned out to be a female -(she's not a zebby though she is one of the canaries that I had to hand rear.)
I really like how you have organised the inside of your flight you have put a lot of work into that. Have you got your chair in the shed yet? (lol) Love reading your posts - please keep them coming.
Emmy
lol, a chair you say?...Of course.. Well actually made a box/storage between aviary wall and shed wall...I have put a lid on it with hinge that lifts up and has all my "finch" stuff in it.... You can see it in one of the pictures posted (without lid at the time).. I going to get the lid upholstered so it's a bit more comfy... Oh, and i'll put a wee shelf in to rest my brew on while I sit there watching them! :-)
Thanks for your comments Emmy...
in this picture you can see the box with the brown(unpainted lid) propped open!...
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Just thought I would share this little idea I had and then created... We all know our Zebbies love bathing, and you can buy baths for them to hook on the outside of cages...However there isn't much on the market for baths to go into your indoor aviaries...Ok you can buy big stone baths or similar but there more for outside flights but usually expensive... I currently don't have an outside flight so if I want them to bathe I need to put in a tray of some kind, the problem with that is the water goes everywhere and soaks everything...So I came up with this yesterday!
Bought the tub for £2.99, cut a hole out, wee bit of wood for a perch so they can get in and out easily and hey presto....And with the lid on the water stays inside, no wet aviary.....
They love it....... had 8 in it at once this afternoon! very amusing...They came out like drowned rats lol..
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Ha Ha!!
This is what makes this forum so great!
Nice looking set up Lee.
Andy
Thanks fella. ... :-). ... will keep posting pictures and updates.. I know many might not be interested but if it generates some comments both positive or constructive then I'll keep posting. . .
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Lol...you got me... they were my choice hahaha.. too be fair I was going to go with bevis and butthead but the look I got off the wife I decided to go with pepsi and Shirley!!!!!... la la and dipsy were discussed lol
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Thanks Stephen and Emmy, will always seeking advice from the wealth of experience and knowledge from members on here..
This is a picture of the inside of my shed.I have put white Lyno on the walls, for two reasons, one, easy to wipe clean, and two, shows off the birds better with a white background.
[/u
[/uThis is a picture of the 8 holes I've put in the side panel to allow access to the 8 breeding boxes!
[/udon't want them breeding yet so have put a square piece of plastic between aviary and breeding box..
[/u
[/umad max this little guy.
This guy is Oscar
This hen is Jerry
These four are, Pepsi and Shirley (2 cfw) and the other two are Mellman and Bella..
love this, Pepsi,Oscar and Bella watching to cocks birds down on the floor kicking off.. They were both stood high on their legs, chest puffed out running at each other lol
Peter and Penny Pied...
last one for tonight! " you talking to me? are you? you talking to me?" Peter chatting to Max with Alec the CFW just not interested! lol
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Yeah I know what you mean, but they are all birds from breeders so have various rings on them.... my daughter is very interested at the minute (she's 6).. so all the birds have names ;-) I have also taken pictures of each bird and I'm going to put them in a book to be kept in the shed....
I've numbered the boxes and I'll ring any babies when they are born and log their parents etc... I know it's not as simple as that but not really interested in getting as serious about the keeping and breeding of them as some of the keepers on here!!! Really is for fun and as long as my birds remain healthy and I get the odd baby to watch grow I'll be happy...
I'll enjoy keeping them, and if I get babies then great, I will keep some and sell some and go from there.... Well that's the plan lol.... :-)
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Lee,
Are you going to cage breed or aviary breed with those birds??
Andy
no real room to cage breed at the minute, I have one large breeding cage that is currently in my utility which I can put a pair in if I so wish! I may just keep that for a "sick bay" if any have problems....
I have set up the aviary in the shed so that I can breed "in the aviary"... I have panelled a 1/4 of the front of the aviary and cut out 8 holes in it, at the moment I have put small boards over the holes, then attached the breeding box on the outside... Once the "new" season starts i'll remove the small boards thus allowing the birds to gain access to the box....
At the moment the birds have been in just over a week, things have settled down after WW3 at the start of the week... I don't want them to breed but a few of them are now making cosy in the food dishes! Infact 3 pairs now sleep in them at night... I just hope they don't start breeding in them! I haven't put any nesting materials in the aviary but reading a few bits here and there on internet, that doesn't matter with zebbies lol... Think if I stood still long enough in the aviary they would breed in my pockets... Will post pictures of the aviary and the breeding boxes set up and you'll understand better... A picture paints a thousand words and all that...
May ask Merv round to give me his opinion also, but will post a few pictures and seek some comments, either positive or constructive on here!
Oh one last thing, joined the Zebra Finch Society earlier in the week, received my welcome pack through the post today, many thanks Dave Edwards... Will have a sit down over the remainder of the weekend and have a read of all the stuff sent! Proper job now lol
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by heck where does the time go? Seeing it was the end of June since I last posted in here I thought I would update for the people who are interested....
Well, the aviary part of the shed is all done, and I have even got round to putting some birdies in..... I have currently 11 birds in there, 7 I have bought from Merv Sheilds, which include one CFW Cock bird, 2 CFW hens, a pair of normals and a pair of pied's! I bought the other 4 from Dave Huntington, two hens and two cock birds, some lovely fawn birds.. All big birds too (exhibition sized) so looking forward to breeding from them, which I will be doing next year hopefully..
This will give me time to build an outside flight to house lots of babies lol...
I would like to thank both Merv and Dave for the birds and the helpful advice about all things Zebbie's... I will upload some pictures of the inside of the shed/aviary in the next days.....
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it should be okay for half a dozen however i would put all birds into cage at same time and wouldnt add anymore later as this will upset the pecking order
Couldn't agree more with Dave's comments about adding at a later date! I have in the house a big ex parrot cage, big enough to house an African Grey.. I bought two birds, thinking and being told that they were male and female!... Well it turned out that they were indeed two hens!... So I spoke to Merv Shields on here and arranged to buy two cock birds! Two lovley young birds, put them in and in short they never really settled, the two cock birds (brothers) just fought, probably over the same hen, then the other hen started to fight with the other hen and the other cock!
In the end I just got fed up with them chasing each other around the cage and took the two cocks birds out and put them both in a separate cage... Calm restored!
However, you'll always have some falling out when there is more than one cock bird as they want to be top dog and will fall out from time to time!....
I have just finished my aviary in my garden shed and put the two cock birds along with four birds bought of Dave and another 5 bought of Merv equalling 11 birds, 5 cocks 6 hens... Put them all in together this weekend...
Well, let's just say, Kate Adie is coming round later with a camera crew, and I've phoned the UN and that Coffie fella is due anytime now..Also put a call out for the "A" Team if no one else can help.. lol....
I would say 6 birds, maybe 4 hens and 2 cocks! plenty of food dishes and water drinkers so they have less to fall out about! After the first few days they'll settle down and chill.....
Let's just say you live and learn, buy all your birds at the same time, put them all in the cage and after a day or two they'll be just fine! I won't be adding any more to my 11 until the outside flight is done and there is more space for them to keep out of each others way! The wife just says' " typical bloody boy's, always causing trouble"...
Right got to go the local police tag team have just turned up to help me sort my lot out!
Enjoy your new birds...
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My quest in my new found love of keeping Zebra Finches is to one day fully understand what Dave H has just said! It probably makes perfect sense for most timed served Zebra breeders/keepers, but for me I haven't got a clue lol
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lovely set of birds, big well done!
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Happy Birthday....
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Wow!!! I'm impressed! !!! Very nice!!!! 12 months in the construction? ??
Ditto about shed size, I think I'll be extending mine one day, but will get the first project done first lol ;-)
Thanks for sharing!
Early To Fledge ?
in Breeding
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I've had 6 babies in the last few months, my first since starting out at keeping zebbies, and as you say, the speed in which they grow is amazing isn't?.... I have 3 in the house whom I took away from their parents at 30 days, big birds and fully feathered.. They're just starting to moult and beaks changing colour which is exciting to see what I have...
I have 3 in the outside aviary that were born in the food dish, had 4 but one died sadly.... They're just over 2 weeks old but again fully feathered. However all 3 have made the jump from the dish! Straight down lol... Mum and dad are feeding them well... I decided to pick them up in the evenings and put them back in the dish! Turned my back and they jumped out again, and again straight down.. So thought, s o d that if I'm crawling on my hands and knees being poohed on.. So they have spent over a week just bouncing and walking about on the bottom of the aviary being occasionally fed by mum and dad.. All 3 sleep in the corner of the aviary, on the bottom and mum and dad sleep up on a perch at the other end, so no nest..
They all seem happy enough and it's probably safer for the babies to stay at the bottom away from the other birds until they're able to cope with "aviary life" with the other birds...
So really as long as they're being fed they'll be fine I'm sure.....
Ps... Taking out the food dish soon as it's getting to cold now and I haven't got a heather in there yet so don't want any more babies until the new year!